Don't Drink the Alabama Kool-Aid

Just read this item in the LibraryLaw Blog concerning Alabama HB 30. Click on the links and read the material yourself. In a nutshell, Alabama is attempting to criminalize the acquistion of certain materials:

(b) No state agency, public school, public library, or public college or university, directly or indirectly, shall require or encourage the entity's members or employees to provide information or materials or engage in any activities that, directly or indirectly, sanction, recognize, foster, or promote a lifestyle or actions prohibited by the sodomy and misconduct laws of Alabama.

(c) Any public employee who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

Watch out librarians of Alabama.

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Justice Resnick News

Here are some articles from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Toledo Blade, Blade again, and even an editorial in the Blade. Gongwer News Service has an article for those who are subscribers, and it's a pretty even bet that just about every major paper and most of the others will have some news as well. The Supreme Court of Ohio's News Releases page has statements released by Justice Resnick and Chief Justice Moyer. Lastly, this from a story in the Columbus Dispatch. Here is the relevant paragraph for those that are not subscribers:

"At a hearing on Monday, Resnick, 65, of Toledo, plans to change her plea to guilty of operating a motor vehicle under the influence and driving outside marked lines. She had pleaded not guilty to both misdemeanors through her attorney Tuesday."

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A Blast From the Past

I know this may sound weird, but I've always enjoyed a good legislative history question. A few days ago, I received the following:

"I am trying to track down legislation that criminalized the usage of the German language after World War I. I have this information: 108 Ohio Laws 614."

As it turned out, this wasn't a difficult request, but I had never heard of this legislation before, so I thought I'd relay my findings.

108 Laws of Ohio 614 was the correct cite for the 1919 version of Amended Senate Bill 137. SB 137 amended General Code section 7762 by adding 7762-1 through 7762-4. The language within the statute made it a misdemeanor to teach school in a language other than English for classes below the 8th grade. German was the only language mentioned specifically. The fine was between $25-100 for each day that a violation was found. Of course, there were some teachers who still used German in the class, so fines were handed out and someone finally challenged the statute. The Supreme Court of Ohio upheld the statute in Pohl v. State, 102 Ohio St. 474, 132 N.E. 20, 19 Ohio Law Rep. 116 (1921) (No. 16492, 16493). However, the decision was reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court along with one from Iowa in Bartels v. State of Iowa, 262 U.S. 404 (1923). The code sections were finally repealed as unconstitutional in 1927 by House Bill 70 (112 Laws of Ohio 127). Interesting stuff.

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UPDATE: Here's the link for the Bartels case.

Technology: The Shuffle Replacement

Last week I mentioned that I was unimpressed with the iPod Shuffle I had ordered and returned it. Two days ago received its replacement, the 128mb Lexar JumpDrive Music. It's a jump drive and an MP3/WMA player (appx. 2 hours of tunes). Comes with an actual screen to see what's happening and to indictate your song choices. Songs can be added by dragging and dropping or the unit "syncs" (shows up as a choice of where one can copy the music to) with Windows Media Player (not a great thing, but handy). Comes with one AAA battery, headphones, lanyard, and USB extension cable. Unit has a removable cap that reveals the USB connection. Great sound and easy to use right out of the box. Cost? 39 bucks.

Next up: Dragon Naturally Speaking Standard 8. Sometimes I just get tired of having to write everything out and this software will allow me to speak my articles and posts aloud and have it converted to text in front of my eyes, leaving me with just a bit of editing. Caught some good reviews of this from David Pogue in his New York Times column. Looking forward to checking it out this weekend.

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Trademark Document Retrieval

The United States Patent and Trademark Office now offers TDR - Trademark Document Retrieval. Through TDR, you can view and download any or all documents contained in the electronic file wrapper of all pending trademark applications, as well as many registrations. Currently, you can access all pending applications and all Madrid Protocol filings, and also many registrations. The USPTO is in the process of converting all remaining registrations into a digital format, to permit future TDR access. This conversion process is expected to take several years. Downloads are converted into PDF format and may be viewed with any PDF viewer.

Thanks to beSpacific for the tip.

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Justice Resnick Charged With DUI

From today's Columbus Dispatch:

Justice Resnick charged with DUI
Calls to authorities about erratic driver lead to arrest on I-75
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She was pulled over south of Bowling Green at 2:02pm yesterday where she failed field sobriety tests. She then refused to take a BAL, triggering an automatic suspension of her license. She was released by the patrol to the custody of a relative, receiving a summons to appear at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in Bowling Green Municipal Court.

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Petro's Motion for Sanctions Called an "Attack on Civil Rights."

The four lawyers who contested Ohio's presidential election results have filed documents with the Supreme Court of Ohio asking the court to reject Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro's motion for sanctions against them for filing a frivilous lawsuit. The documents were filed late last Friday. I have copies if anyone wants to see them (PDF).

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The Jim O'Brien Lawsuit

According to the Lantern, Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro has authorized $40,000 for legal council in the $6 million breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by former Ohio State basketball coach James J. "Jim" O'Brien against the university. According to the Docket of the Court of Claims of Ohio (C2004-10230), the latest entry (1/19/2005) deals with the issue of liability:

ORDER TO BIFURCATE TRIAL: The initial trial shall pertain to the issue of liability. The liability phase of the trial scheduled for October 11-13, 2005 will require three days as scheduled in the court's trial order. Copy of entry sent to Joseph Murray and Brian Murphy attorneys for plaintiff; Peggy Corn assistant attorney general attorney for defendant; David Cupps and William Porter, II special counsel to attorney general attorneys for defendant.

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Copyright - Orphan Works

I'm educating myself about this topic (“orphan works,” i.e., copyrighted works whose owners are difficult or even impossible to locate). If you are interested, click here first, then here for the Federal Register notice announcing the comment period.

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2006 Governor's Race Begins

The Republican side of this race could be a bloodbath with the current Ohio Auditor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General all very interested in assuming the mantle of Governor in January of 2007. A.G. Jim Petro's site "Jim Petro 2006," now offers an e-mail newsletter. Auditor Betty Montogomery's site doesn't mention her run for Ohio's top job, but her site is expected to be revamped this spring when she formally goes for the gold. SoS Kenneth Blackwell's site is simply called "Blackwell for Governor," and touts a December poll showing that he is the leading GOP choice for governor at 36%.